I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to spinal surgery and, more particularly, to intervertebral implant insertion devices, implants, and methods for performing transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF).
II. Description of the Related Art
In the area of spinal surgery, various techniques have been developed over time to fuse adjacent vertebral bodies together. One technique is so-called anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF), which involves accessing the intervertebral space from a generally anterior approach and introducing one or more intervertebral implants such that the implants are positioned generally along the anterior region of the disc space. While generally effective at restoring disc height and promoting fusion between adjacent vertebral bodies, the ALIF technique has certain drawbacks, including the need for an additional surgeon in the operating room to gain access to the anterior aspect of the spine, and the inability to perform decompression.
To overcome the drawbacks or limitations of ALIF procedures, surgeons may employ the so-called posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) technique, which involves accessing the intervertebral space in a bilateral fashion from a generally posterior approach and introducing an intervertebral implant through each bilateral opening such that the implants are positioned along the lateral aspects of the disc space. PLIF is advantageous over ALIF in that it provides the ability to perform decompression and avoids the need for an access surgeon as required in ALIF procedures. However, notwithstanding these improvements, PLIF nonetheless suffers certain limitations, including the need to create two openings into the disc space (which causes muscle disruption bilaterally) and the need to retract the dura in order to access the disc space through each of the bilateral openings.
To overcome the drawbacks or limitations of PLIF procedures, surgeons have devised a still further technique, so-called transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), which involves accessing the spine in a unilateral fashion from a generally posterior approach and introducing one or more intervertebral implants into the generally anterior region of the disc space. This is accomplished by removing part or all of a single facet joint on one side of the spine, which thereby creates a channel through which to access the intervertebral disc. TLIF is advantageous over PLIF in that TLIF, by creating an access channel via facet removal, does not require the dura retraction as found in PLIF procedures. Also, by accessing the disc space in a unilateral fashion, TLIF minimizes the muscle disruption, as compared with the bilateral muscle disruption as found in PLIF procedures.